For Better Or Worse
by Nikki14u
Summary: To most people this would be great cause for alarm but not for her. This was what her life had consisted of over the last three years, hiding in corners afraid of him and what he might do next.
1. Welcome To My Life

**Warning: **This story contains language, domestic violence and acts of rape between the characters of Nathan and Haley. Reader's discretion is advised.

**Summary:** To most people this would be great cause for alarm but not for her. This was what her life had consisted of over the last three years, hiding in corners afraid of him and what he might do next.

**Teaser**

She sat there hidden in the darkness of the shadows with sore cheeks and a blackened eye as blood dripped from her nose and stained the white silk night gown that rested against her body. To most people this would be great cause for alarm but not for her. This was what her life had consisted of over the last three years, hiding in corners afraid of him and what he might do next.

Her husband, the father her two boys had began drinking heavily and abusing her physically and emotionally every since his career was stolen from him. He had worked so hard to fulfill his dreams and when it was just within his reach everything came crashing down around him. In that moment he retreated into himself and began going on heavy drinking binges that till this day had yet to end. She had tried being there for him and letting him know that in her eyes he was still the man she loved. The man she trusted and had given her heart and soul to years ago. That he was still a good person and was an important part of her life and the lives of their children.

But somehow this wasn't enough.

He began resenting her and their children, blaming her for everything wrong in his life. Calling her all sorts of names and telling her that if she hadn't come into his life and ruined it that everything would be perfect, that his life wouldn't be as screwed up as it was now. Deep down she knew that the words he spoke were out of pain and that he didn't mean what he was saying but she couldn't help but feel horrible. The words, although she told herself they held no meaning, still stung.

Every time they spoke she felt worthless and one day she decided to tell him that she couldn't continue living like this with him emotionally bullying her. With him taking out his pinned up anger on her and their boys and that's when she had gotten the shock of her life. Her husband, the man she loved drew back his hand in a drunken rage and slapped her so hard that he body was flung to the ground below.

That was the begging of the end.

A loud crackle of thunder erupted from the heavens bringing her back to the present, causing the woman to jump slightly and gasp at the sudden disturbance. She quickly brought a hand up to her mouth in order to stifle her own heavy breathing when she heard staggered foot steps approaching. From her position on the floor behind the love seat she could see his shadow and knew that he was near.

Tears streamed down her face as images of his fist connecting with her face flashed before her eyes. She knew what would happen if he were to find her so no matter how angry he got, or how loud he yelled she had to stay out of sight.

The sound of glass colliding hard with the floor forced a scream to escape her lips and also managed to give away her location.

This was followed by his laughter.

"I've got you now you bitch! Did you really think that you would be able to hide from me?"

She heard him yell directly into her ear as she was pulled roughly to her feet.

"Nathan please, don't" she pleaded as she tried to shield her face from his fist.

"Shut up! Shut your got damn mouth before I really give you something to cry about" he screamed as he tossed her to the ground.

Haley could feel the throbbing pain exploding from the left side of her face where Nathan's hand made contact with her cheek.

Before she had a chance to react she was once again pulled roughly to her feet, this time by her hair.

"Ahhhhh" she screamed as she felt herself being dragged up the stairs, tripping and falling along the way.

She was going into another hysterical fit as Nathan threw her into their bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them. He was looking at her with hate, distain and…lust.

She hated that combination.

She hated him.

She wished that the man she loved would return and rescue her from the monster that was standing in front of her. Her heart rate increased as did her fear as she watched him advance on her. She back up quickly but was only able to get so far as her back collided with the foot board of their bed.

She then looked into his eyes with fear and pleading written all over her expression. The young woman grew even more horrified as she watched her husband's mouth twist into a demented smile.

"Ah sweet little Haley, so helpless, so scared" he said kneeling in front of her and whisking a stray hair out of her face. "You know what baby. You're so hot when you have that look in your eyes"

He then planted a kiss on her cheek and then another on her lips. She tried to snatch herself out of his grasp but he took her wrist into his hands and held them together tightly making it impossible for her to fight him. It was then that she felt his tongue trail along side her neck all the while holding her breath and trying her best not to vomit.

His touches used to send chills up and down her spine and his sweet kisses would make her lick her lips to prolong the taste of him but now the smell of liquor tainted his kisses and his touch felt like acid against her skin.

"Nathan I can't do this right now. Please just stop" she whispered as he kissed his way from her chest to her ear.

"That's too bad because I can. Which means you will" he then pulled back and stared into her eyes just as lightening illuminated the room only adding to the tension of the moment.

She knew exactly what his words meant.

If she wasn't going to willingly give herself to him then he was going to take it. That he was going to rape her.

Again.

Slowly she forced herself to stand and turned her back on him to disrobe. She didn't like the amount of control he had over her but she was in no mood to receive another slap or punch to the face. Tears spilled over her eye lids as she felt his hands once again on her skin. She could now feel his bare chest pressed into the skin of her back and his stiffened member brushed slightly up again her rear.

Before she knew it she was laying on her back with his body pressed roughly against her own. His movements were fast, pressed deeply and hurt like hell. She gritted her teeth together and closed her eyes tightly while he moved himself in and out of her. It lasted for an hour with his touches bruising her skin and his kisses pushing rough against her lips.

Then, as quickly as it had begun it was over.

The only sound that could be heard was his deep breathing as he continued to lie on top of her. He was sleeping and snoring slightly in her ear while she lay uncomfortably under his full weight.

After a few moments Haley shifted and twisted her body until she was fully free of him. The young woman then turned on her side with her husband spooning up against her backside and placing his arm possessively around her waist.

Then in that moment and in the darkness of the night as the storm raged on outside Haley James Scott cried herself to sleep.


	2. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing

**Chapter One: The Trick Is To Keep Breathing **

Morning had come fast bringing with it a bright new day. The transition was a smooth one as the rain slowly lightened and the angry clouds disappeared giving way to the high morning sun. It was at these peak hours of dawn that the world and nature were at peace and silence reigned supreme.

This time of day always brought her great comfort.

It was quiet, calm and serene; nothing like her chaotic life and that was loud, enraged and bustling. Here, in this time and in this hour she was care and pain free. She never hurt. She never cried. She never wondered what trouble lay just around the corner or whether or not today would be the day that her husband finally killed her. No, in the stillness of dawn she was simply content.

"Mommy" a small voice called out to the woman causing her eyes to snap open.

It was then that her eyes met with the innocent blue ones of her six year old son Dillon. He was the perfect mixture of herself and the way Nathan used to be. He was smart, just like her and had her auburn colored hair mixed with Nathan's good looks and basketball talent.

"Yes baby" she responded softly being sure not to wake up the boy's father.

The child stared back at her sadly before tracing his hands over the bruises on her face. Without uttering a single word the boy disappeared from his mother's vision only to return a few short seconds later with cotton balls and alcohol in hand.

"It's okay Mommy. I'll make it all better"

Haley's heart sank at her son's words and she found herself wondering if he had heard what happed last night between her and Nathan. The woman prayed to God with all her might that he hadn't and that he believed that she had fallen down the steps again, something, anything other then the awful truth.

She closed her eyes as the young boy cleaned her wounds just as he had learned to do two years ago. She hated herself for this. For tainting his childhood with images of her in this condition, images that he will no doubt remember for years to come. It was a horrible thing for her to have to deal with on a day to day basis but for her children to go through it as well horrified her.

Tears instantly stung her eyes at the thought of her sons carrying around the weight of an abusive home for the rest of their lives, scaring them from having any real loving relationships of their own. Then there was always the slight chance that they would become exactly like Nathan. Hitting and raping their wives and girlfriends and torturing their children. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach and found it harder and harder to breath.

"There all done" the boy spoke as he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you sweetheart"

Haley could feel the tears sliding down her face just as the child retreated slightly. She felt it the moment he stepped away and quickly opened her eyes to see what occurrence had made him suddenly afraid. When she did she saw that he too had small drops of water trickling down his face.

"What's the matter angel?" she questioned.

"I'm sorry Mommy I didn't mean too" he sobbed forcing Haley to go to him.

She quickly picked herself up off the bed and made her way to his side.

"Honey don't cry you have nothing to be sorry about"

The child looked up at her with uncertainty.

"Yes I did. I used the alcohol on you and it hurt and made you cry. I'm sorry that I was so stupid. I'll do the better next time"

For a moment Haley was speechless. Dillon had said almost exactly the same thing she had said to Nathan the night before.

_**Flashback**_

_Haley had just put their three year old son to bed when her husband's voice erupted from the floor below._

"_GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE HALEY, RIGHT NOW!" yelled a drunken Nathan as he stood in the kitchen._

_Upon hearing his voice the woman quickly came running to him with her heart beating a mile a minute unsure of what she had done wrong this time. Her mind was reeling as she searched her brain for something that she could have forgotten to do on her list of chores. Having done them all she couldn't understand why Nathan was so angry but then again anger had become his default setting as of late._

"_Yes Nathan" she replied with her head hanging down, scared to meet his gaze._

"_What the fuck is this?" he said pointing to the ground._

_Haley followed the length of his extended finger as she searched the surface hard for any imperfections._ _Finding none she answered honestly._

"_I don't see anything Nathan"_

_Off her answer the man grabbed her arm roughly and threw her down to the floor. He then kneeled down and wrapped his fist around a good chunk of her hair before pushing her face down into a sticky substance._

"_Do you see it now Haley! Uh? Answer me"_

"_Yes Nathan I see it now please let me up you're hurting me"_

"_No! Not until you tell what you did. Do you have any idea how much these granite tiles cost me you ungrateful cow?"_

"_No" sobbed Haley unable to hold back any more. She felt as if her hair was being pulled out by the roots._

"_I'll tell you how much five thousand dollars! Five thousand dollars Haley and now you've ruined them. Is this how you repay me for buying you nice things to show off to your little rich bitch friends, uh?" he said letting go of her hair long enough to slap her before seizing hold of the golden locks once again. _

"_Now this is what you're going to do. You're going to lick whatever this is up off this floor until I'm satisfied"_

_The woman looked into her husbands eyes with a mixture of horror and disgust. How could he ask this of her?_

"_Did you hear what I said Haley? Do it, NOW!"_

_At his command she jump and instantly began licking the floor with her tongue. Upon contact she found out that it was syrup from their breakfast that morning. She cringed as she picked up hair and other foreign objects as she continued to scrap her tongue along the ground. After a moment she looked up and saw that creepy grin spread across her husband's lips before he pulled her up by her neck._

"_You disgust me" he said before standing up and kicking her in the stomach. _

_  
Haley doubled over in pain before being pulled forcefully to her feet._

"_You just can't do anything right, can you?"_

_Because of his words and the look in his eyes she suddenly felt the need to defend herself._

"_I'm sorry Nathan. I didn't mean to leave that mess there. I must have missed it when I was cleaning this afternoon. I'm sorry that I was so stupid. I'll do a better job next time"_

"_See to it that you do. Now grab the mop and get that crap up. Lucas will be here tomorrow and I don't need you making me look bad in front of my brother"_

"_Yes Nathan" said a defeated Haley before doing exactly what she was told._

_That was only the beginning of her terror filled night._

_**End of Flashback**_

Coming out of the painful memory Haley gathered her son into her arms and held him close.

"Listen to me Dillon you didn't do anything wrong ok. Mommy is just a little sad and it has nothing to do with you. You're a good boy and helped me a lot and it's because of you that I feel much better now"

"Really" the boy replied with less tears.

"Really. So just wipe those tears away from those beautiful blue eyes of yours"

"Okay Mommy"

"Good boy and another thing I don't want to ever hear you call yourself stupid again, do you understand me? You are not stupid baby. You're a smart little boy who takes good care of his Mommy and his baby brother"

The little boy only nodded his head.

"Good" Haley said giving the boy a kiss on the cheek.

"Aww isn't this sweet. Mommy and her little boy" a deep voice called out.

The little boy buried himself deeply into his mother's chest as his father approached them.

"Umm sweetie why don't you go to your room and pick out what you want to wear today for uncle Lucas" the boy pulled back from his mother and glared at his father before trying to run out of the room.

Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough to escape the older, stronger male.

Nathan grabbed his son and scooped him up into his arms.

"How's my boy doing this morning?"

When the child turned his head away Nathan became annoyed at the lack of respect he was being shown.

"I asked you a question boy now answer me"

The child's small voice trembled as he answered his father "Okay"

"Speak up son. You need to have a strong powerful voice if you want people to listen to you. Now say it again, loud and clear"

"Nathan I don't think…" began Haley before being cut off.

"No you don't think. And you're not talking right now either" he said pushing the woman back onto the bed.

"Leave my Mommy alone"

This time the child's voice could be heard loud and clear.

Nathan just smiled.

"You want me to do what son?"

The boy looked his father right in the eye and repeated his words "I said leave my Mommy alone"

Nathan's smile grew wider this time and this scared Haley.

"Sure thing son. All you had to do was ask" he said before placing the boy back on the floor. "Now go do what your mother told you to do"

The second the child was out of sight Nathan turned his attention back to Haley. After lowering himself down onto the bed he pulled the woman onto his lap.

"Good morning baby" he said kissing her on the cheek. "Did you enjoy yourself last night? I know I did"

Haley felt sick to her stomach and although she wanted to tell him to go to hell she thought better of it and replied carefully.

"It would have been if you hadn't left bruises on my body"

"Well whose fault is that? If you would just do what I ask you to and not make such a mess of things then I wouldn't have to hurt you Haley. Contrary to what you believe I don't enjoy it"

"I never said you did Nathan I just..." she trailed off with a sigh. She didn't know exactly what to say and it seemed that at the moment anything could set Nathan off so would just allow her words to hang in the air.

"You never have to say anything Haley. I can read you like a book. Always could" he replied with a smug grin.

Haley wanted to slap it off his face but knew better then to even attempt such an act.

"Anyway we should get dressed. I have to leave to pick up Lucas soon"

This brought a smile to her face that didn't go unnoticed by Nathan.

"I can't wait to see him. It's been so long" replied Haley as she sprang to her feet and began searching her closet for something nice to ware.

Every time Lucas came to town Nathan was sure to ship her off to her parent's house or putting her up in some motel not wanting his brother to see his best friend. He would always tell the older Scott that it was just bad timing but in actuality it was Nathan's way of keeping Haley under his thumb. He didn't want her having too much contact with their family or friends. Mainly because it was easier to hide his abusive behavior but it was also because he didn't want her getting any ideas about leaving him or telling anyone about what had been taking place in their home. After all she had ruined his life so it was only fair that he returned the favor.

She was walking into the bathroom to shower when he grabbed her by arm and brought her actions to a halt.

"I think there are a few ground rules that we need to go over before Lucas gets here"

His tone was low and full of warning as he spoke "You are not to ware anything revealing at all. Nothing short, whether its a top, shorts or a skirt. Every morning before you get dressed you are to show me what you intend to ware and I will tell you if I approve or not. Secondly you are to make sure that this house is clean and everything is in its proper place. I don't want my brother to think that my wife is a lazy pig. I mean it's evident that you got fat but I don't want him to think that you're dirty and sloppy too"

Nathan smiled at the hurt expression on his wife's face before he continued "Now for the big one. If you say or do anything and I mean anything to make me hurt you while Lucas is here I swear to God Haley I will beat the living shit out of you when he's gone, do you understand me?"

The young woman fought hard to hold back the fear that she was experiencing at that moment.

"Yes Nathan. I promise to be on my best behavior while he's here. I won't cause you any trouble or do anything to make you look bad"

Nathan smiled and gave his wife a nod of approval.

"Good because if you do anything to jeopardize my relationship with my brother Haley I promise you baby it will be the last thing you ever do"

Haley shook her head in understanding before quickly entering the bathroom and putting distance between herself and Nathan. And as she stood in the shower with the hot water cascading down her body she prayed with her whole heart and soul that things went well this weekend because if not Nathan just might kill her.


	3. Uncle Lucas Plus One

**Chapter Two: Uncle Lucas…Plus One**

Four hours had passed since she woke up and now with the house in perfect condition and with she and her two children cleaned and dressed to the nine Haley was ready to welcome her brother in law.

Sitting in the family room of Scott Manor watching her two boys play her hands trembled excitedly as she waited for Lucas and Nathan to arrive. It had been so long since she last seen the boy who was like a brother to her and now with him just a few miles away she could hardly contain her joy.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as the children's laugher erupted through the air, cutting away all the tension and heartache that normally blanketed the atmosphere of her home. It felt wonderful to watch them chasing each other around the coffee table so care free and happy with innocence sparkling in their crystal blue eyes, each one enjoying the presence of the other. It was a shame how they were only this blissful when their father wasn't around.

They were always so afraid of him and with good reason. Not only was he physically and emotionally abusive towards her but at the tender ages of only six and three Nathan was already riding them too hard about basketball. They practiced every afternoon when he returned home from work and most of the day on Saturdays and they would always stay up much later then children their age should, just so their father could start molding them in his own image. It was a vicious cycle that started with his great grandfather Christian trickling down to Royal, Dan and himself. Haley just hoped that Lucas would come around more often and help put an end to her children's suffering before they become too emotionally scared.

The thought of her best friend made her shiver as her mind flashed back to her earlier conversation with Nathan. The look in his eyes told her that he meant every single word he spoke and if she wasn't extremely careful while Lucas was here he was in fact going to kill her or at best make her life even more miserable then he already had.

She looked down at her clothing to make sure that she followed every single last one of her husband's rules. Her grey skirt was just below the knee, her shirt was a pink turtle neck and her hair was down around her shoulders and slightly curled, just the way Nathan preferred it when they were entertaining guest. Growing more and more self conscious she looked over her perfectly manicured nails before running over to the nearest mirror and checking her make-up in order to be sure that she wasn't warring too much, because the last time she did Nathan became enraged.

_**Flashback**_

_It was the night of the policemen's ball and Haley couldn't wait to get there. She made sure that she had laid out the perfect outfit and matching accessories for the affair and couldn't wait to enjoy a night of adult conversation, food, friends and fun. Tara, one of her closest friends was also married to an officer and was going to be there tonight. She hadn't seen or spoken to the woman in over two weeks as part of her punishment for allowing their younger son to scrape his knee. Nathan had screamed at her and called her a bad mother, slapping her repeatedly in the face telling her that if either one of his boys ever got hurt again she would pay one hell of a price. When she had tried to defend herself by saying that he was a little boy and accidents were bound to happen Nathan just stared at her. He didn't speak a word he just...stared at her. It was the most intimidating look she had ever seen and it told her all she needed to know._

"_Come on Haley we're going to be late" Nathan said walking into the bathroom._

"_Just a second Nathan I want to make sure everything looks okay" she replied before putting the finishing touches on her make up._

_Haley smiled at herself in the mirror as if she were seeing how beautiful she was for the first time in her life. This was the young girl she remembered. The smile, the light shinning through her hazel eyes, the look of confidence and ease. She was every bit the Haley James of old and she loved it. She was happy, really happy for the first time in a long while and with Nathan having been nice to her the last three days Haley was on top of the world._

_With a cute smirk and a slight giggle she turned to Nathan "So honey, what do you think?"_

_Why did she ask?_

_Nathan wore an angry scowl on his face and slowly began walking in her direction. His fist were clenched, his lips were pressed tightly together as he continued to approach her. When he was near the bathroom counter he pounded his fist on it three times as Haley jumped back in surprise._

_What was it?_

_She didn't understand what she had done wrong?_

_She was wearing a flawless black gown that hugged her in all the right places and was sure that it wasn't show too much skin so what could possibly be wrong?_

_All she wanted to do was look nice for her husband, why was he flipping out on her?_

_The woman's questions were answered the second Nathan grabbed her roughly by the arms and turned her towards the mirror as he stood behind her._

"_It's bad enough that you let yourself go and look like a circus tent but now you have to put on clown make up too?"_

"_Nathan what are you talking about?" she asked on the verge of tears. Why was he being so mean to her all of a sudden?_

_The man rolled his eyes and slapped her in the head before pressing her face against the mirror._

_With a firm grip on her hair he replied "You look ridiculous! You have all this goddamn make-up piled on your face with bright red lip stick and you look like shit. Are you trying to embarrass me in front of my fellow officers? Uh?" he yelled before tossing her to the ground._

"_You know I try to be nice to you and I try to take you out for an evening and this is how you repay me?"_

_Instantly Haley found herself on her knees with tears streaming down her face as she pleaded "I'm so sorry Nathan I didn't mean to upset you honey. I'll wash my face and put on less make up. It will only take a five minutes tops and then we can go"_

_The girl rushed to her feet and turned on the water and began scrubbing away the earlier applications. While soap was still on her face and her eyes were closed she felt Nathan push up behind her. But before she could move or wipe away the cleanser to face him, she felt a wash cloth with scolding hot water being held forcefully against her face._

_The woman screamed and fell back onto the floor holding her hands to her face._

"_You're so pathetic. Do you actually think that I was going to let you go anywhere with me? After all this? Hell no. You're going to stay home where you belong"_

"_Nathan please, don't leave me here. I'll do what ever you want me to but please just let me have this one night. I haven't been around any of my friends for two weeks and I really miss them"_

"_First of all Haley" he said bending down in front of the woman so they were eye to eye. "You will do whatever I tell you to do whether I let you go or not. Second of all you don't have any friends"_

"_Tara's my friend. So are Jenna and Sasha you just won't let me see them"_

_Nathan laughed._

"_You're right I won't. Not until you learn how to behave"_

"_I am not your child Nathan. I'm your wife" Haley spoke in a slightly defiant tone._

_The moment Nathan's eye's narrowed Haley knew she had crossed the line. _

_What happened next she couldn't really say, all she remembered was hearing Nathan suddenly downstairs telling the babysitter to leave. In her non coherent state she remembered a door slamming shut in the distance followed by Nathan yelling Dillon's name. Seconds later the door to her bedroom shut and locked with Nathan pounding on it from the other side._

"_Mommy" a small voice called out to her._

_Next thing she knew she felt small hands brush ever so gently against her cheek. Seconds turned into minutes with water running in the bathroom and then a small child appeared holding a cup of water in one hand and a soaking wet wash cloth in the other. She could feel large drops of water hitting her skin as the boy pressed the cold rag to her face and seized hold of her hand. _

_After a moment the woman started to come around and seen her son with tears in his eyes looking down on her as Nathan was finally able to get the door open. In his arms was her two year old son who was crying and reaching for her. Nathan placed the boy on the bed and turned his attention to his older child. _

_Acting on instinct Haley pulled the boy into her so that Nathan couldn't get his hands on him._

"_Nathan please don't he's just a little boy and he doesn't understand" _

"_Yeah, well he's also a little boy who needs to learn to obey his father" he yelled before taking off his belt and grabbing the child by the arm._

"_Nathan no! Please stop!" Haley said trying to get the boy back into her custody._

_But Nathan was too strong and too quick and was able to get to the bathroom and shut and lock the door before Haley could even get off the bed._

_She heard her son cries as his father struck him six times. The whole time Haley sat on the floor holding her other child, rocking him back and forth in her arms while crying. When the door finally opened Nathan had a satisfied grin on his face and the boy was laying on the bathroom floor, sobbing uncontrollably. _

"_This is MY family and you will all either do as I say or be prepared to deal with the consequences. Your choice"_

_With that Nathan walked away leaving Haley and his children to do just that. Deal with the consequences of not only their actions, but of his as well._

_**End of Flashback**_

The painful memory brought tears to her eyes. Nathan was totally out of control that night and Haley hoped like hell that they would never have a repeat of anything like that ever again.

"Mommy, mommy daddy's home" the voice of her three year old son Lucas cried out.

Nathan had insisted on giving the child his brother's name thereby making Haley a very happy woman. She always loved that name and the fact that it just happened to be her best friend's name was an extra added bonus.

"Okay sweetie" replied Haley as the pain of past events were pushed to the side by excitement and joy.

She couldn't wait to see Lucas, her protector, her best friend and ultimately the only person who could get Nathan off her back.

Rushing to the door Haley was almost knocked over by a not so thrilled looking Nathan. It was the kind of look he always got when he was pissed about something but couldn't fully show it.

This confused her.

Whenever Lucas was coming by Nathan would always be on cloud nine but today he looked as if his world were about to implode on him. The woman was about to question her husband and find out just what the hell was going on when the answer to her question stepped through the door.

There before her stood her best friend in the world and right next to him was none other then Dan Scott.


	4. The Uninvited Truth

**Chapter Three: The Uninvited Truth**

Dan Scott was standing in front of her wearing his trademark evil smirk while Lucas stood next to him shaking his head disapprovingly. Haley suddenly felt sick to her stomach already knowing exactly what was going on.

Dan was torturing Nathan about not being able to recover from his injury and continue playing basketball just as he had during every other visit before and now Nathan was livid. She sighed and lowered her gaze to the ground below while saying a silent prayer that Nathan wouldn't take his anger at Dan out on her.

She could hear a door slamming shut in the distance forcing her to flinch and mentally prepare herself for what she knew was later to come.

Taking a deep breath Haley looked back up and refocused her attention on Lucas and Dan as the excitement she was just feeling moments ago slowly started to fade away.

"You just couldn't wait to tare into him, could you Dad?"

_Dad? _Haley thought to herself. _Since when did this happen? Lucas referring to the man who had tormented him and everyone he loved as Dad and not Dan? What the hell?_

"Oh come on Luke I was only kidding. Besides it's not your fault that your brothers a donut eating cop instead of a basketball star like you"

_Basketball star? Doesn't Lucas have HCM? And more importantly why didn't she know about this?_

"Hey being an officer is a very noble profession and aside from that you promised me that if I brought you with me that you wouldn't be an ass to Nathan. That you wouldn't say or do anything to set him off"

"And I haven't. Who knew Nathan was so got damn sensitive? And if he doesn't like to hear us talk about basketball then he shouldn't listen to our conversation"

Lucas let out a frustrated sigh before walking over to her.

"Hey Hales" he said engulfing her in a tight embrace. "I missed you so much"

"I missed you too" she replied finally having found her voice "It's been so long since we last talked"

"Too long. We have lot of catching up to do buddy"

Haley smiled at this. God she missed Lucas so much and there were so many things they needed to talk about.

Suddenly she felt the urge to pour out her heart and soul to him. To tell her best friend what a monster his brother had become and all the horrible things he was doing to her and their children. But she knew better. Nathan would more then likely kill her and who's to say that Lucas would even believe her.

"Hello Haley" Dan spoke interrupting her thoughts "My, my, my don't you look rather…oh what's the point? We both know no matter what I say I'd be lying so why pretend"

"Dad!"

"Oh what now Lucas?" said Dan rolling his eyes.

"Do not speak to Haley like that. She's your son's wife and not to mention the mother of your grandchildren for God's sake. So how about showing her a little respect"

"Fine but how do we even know they're Nathan's kids? I mean they are after all too young to show any real signs of failure" the man laughed.

Seeing the anger building in his son's eyes Dan quickly tired to smooth things over.

"Calm down son I was only joking. Gees where's your sense of humor?"

"Grandpa!" both Dillon and little Lucas said as they ran into Dan's arms.

"Hey boys, how are my two favorite grandsons?"

"Good" the boys replied with smiles on their sweet innocent faces.

"Come play with us" said Lucas as he grabbed onto the larger man's hands and began pulling him in the direction of the family room.

"Yeah and you can help us build a house" added Dillon.

When the three Scott males disappeared Haley exhaled, relieved to finally be rid of Dan.

"Sorry about that Hales" Lucas spoke in a sorrowful tone. "I was stupid enough to actually believe him when he promised to be on his best behavior. I guess the saying's true. You can't teach an old dog new tricks"

Haley laughed.

"Well that's Dan for you. He'll say or do just about anything to get what he wants" the woman said before taking a seat on the couch and motioning for her brother in law to do the same.

"Let's just forget about Dan for a minute and catch up"

"I would love to Hales but I think one of us needs to check on Nathan. Dad was in rare jackass form on the ride back from the airport. He ragged on Nate during the entire time and needless to say his words were not very well received"

"I know. He practically flattened me he ran in here so fast" she smiled while inwardly cringing.

"Where do you think he went?"

Knowing Nathan the way that she did there was only one place he went when he was angry and couldn't take out his frustrations on her.

"Check the gym. It's down the hall, third door on the left"

"Thanks Hales" Lucas replied giving her a kiss on the cheek "I promise that we'll talk once I make sure Nathan's okay"

Within seconds the older Scott sibling had disappeared down the hall as Haley looked after him. This visit wasn't going at all like she hoped it would. She thought that Lucas's arrival would make things easier for her. That he would be able to help her with Nathan but instead he brought Dan along with him who was only going to add to her husband's hostility and anger.

This scared her.

With Nathan being constantly tense and put on edge by Dan he's going to need an outlet for his anger and not only that but he was going to want to forcefully go after the one thing that he felt led to his downfall.

He was going to come after her.

The afternoon passed by quickly and now the members of the Scott family were seated around the dinner table. A heavy amount of tension still lingered around the dueling father and son but thankfully Lucas had been able to keep them from killing each other along with the presence of the two boys. Haley just hoped that Dan wouldn't say of do anything to push Nathan even further over the edge.

"So Haley" the man in question spoke. "What exactly do you call this little dish of yours?"

"Mainly we call it dinner Dad" Nathan replied through clenched teeth.

"Well I guess you do what you can on a cops salary. Lucas should lend you his cook Sheryl one day. She's fantastic"

"I only have a cook because Brooke and I are too busy with our careers right now to do the cooking and cleaning ourselves. Besides Haley doesn't need any help with those things. She's a great cook. Away Dillon, How's school going for you this year kiddo?" Lucas said stopping his father from commenting any further and his brother from blowing a gasket.

The boy's face lit up at the question and Haley smiled. She was certain that nothing bad could possibly come up in a conversation of this kind.

"Good. My teacher said that I'm really smart"

"That's nice son. Do you have really good grades too?" questioned Dan.

"Yes. He got an A on both his math test and his spelling test" Haley proudly boasted.

"Wow that's great Dillon. You know your uncle Lucas made excellent grades in school too just like you. Your father on the other had was academically challenged"

Haley looked over to Nathan who had become noticeably tense. Reaching over, she placed her hand on top of his in an attempt to keep him calm.

Unfortunately it had an adverse effect.

The dark haired male roughly snatched his hand away from his wife' and glared at her. The woman instantly cast her gaze downward and trembled under the weight of his stare.

Lucas noticed this.

"You okay Hales" he questioned with intrigue.

He didn't understand exactly what was going on but the one thing he did know was that Haley looked scared.

"I'm fine Luke" she replied while trying to regain her composure.

"Are you sure?"

The young wife and mother hesitated for a moment until she felt her husband's foot press down firmly on her exposed toes.

"Yes I'm sure" she insisted with a fake smile.

Her fragile nubs were now throbbing and hurt like hell. She tried to curl them up and protect them from any further punishment but Nathan, being aware of what she was trying to do decided to apply even more pressure as tears stung her eyes. Haley looked up to see her husband's twisted smirk of satisfaction before the man turned to address his brother.

"Of course she's fine. Why wouldn't she be?"

"I don't know. She looked totally spooked just now"

"Really?" he questioned with mocked concern. "You feeling alright baby?"

Haley wanted to vomit.

"She probably ate the food"

"Shut up Dad" Lucas said in a low growl.

He didn't want to scare his nephews but at the same time Dan needed to know that he meant business.

"Oh give me a break Lucas. Haley knows that I'm only joking so relax"

"Yeah well you better be and while you're at it make sure you keep your little comedy routine at my wife's expense to a minimum"

Dan chuckled "Whatever you say officer"

"It's fine Nathan. I'm okay, really. Now can we please just forget about it and get back to dinner? Please"

She was so tired of Dan's behavior and Nathan's loving husband act. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and turn in for the night.

"Good idea Hales. Anyway so what's new with you? Did you ever sign up for those classes at the university that you were telling me about"

The woman smiled weakly as she tried to think of a lie to tell her best friend. In truth the only reason that she wasn't attending college was because Nathan wouldn't allow her to. He said that her place was in the home, tending to him and their children.

"I umm…"

"She decided to wait until both boys were in school full time" Nathan spoke for her "That way we don't have to worry about who's taking care of them and how they're being treated"

It was disturbing how quickly, easily and amazingly well he could lie.

"Well that makes sense" Lucas said before putting a fork full of tuna casserole in his mouth.

"That's the smartest move you've ever made Haley. I wish your mother would have done that with you but no, her career was more important then her family"

"Well I'm sure Deb had her reasons" Haley spoke in the woman's defense.

"Yeah and her boyfriend was one of them"

Everyone in the room instantly fell silent, well everyone except for Nathan.

"Can you blame her? Maybe if you weren't such an ass Mom wouldn't have had a reason to cheat"

"Oooh Daddy said a bad word" little Lucas spoke.

"And he's very sorry he did, isn't that right Nathan?"

The man rolled his eyes at the woman and put up a hand to silence her.

"What did you just say to me boy?" questioned Dan as he rose to his feet and threw his napkin down on the dinner table.

"You heard me Dad" replied Nathan with amused grin, happy to finally get the best of Dan.

"You try working your ass off to support a family and have your ungrateful whore of a wife cheat on you then you talk to me about the proper way to react"

"Oh please you were a jerk way before Mom had the affair"

"How the hell would you know Nathan you were only three years old?"

Nathan's eyes grew wide at this.

"But I thought…"

"Well obviously you thought wrong. That's why you need to have all your facts straight before you go running off at the mouth. You see your dear saint of a mother cheated on me three times with three different men and I took her back every damn time. I don't know why but I did"

Off the young Scotts silence the man continued.

"It hurt like hell Nathan and every time I looked at her all I could see was how easy it was for her to walk away from us and abandon us all for some guy she barely even knew. How she just walked away from me, from you, her only child. It killed me Nathan and I have apologized a thousand time for the way I took my anger out on you but damn it what else did you want me to do? Was I supposed to just let it all roll off my back and forget what she did? Tell me son, how I was supposed to act all those years with the ghost of the past lingering over us? What would you do if Haley did that to you?"

Nathan looked over to a stunned Lucas who had walked over to their father and put his hand on the man's shoulder and helped him sit back down.

He then looked back over to his wife who stared back at him with tear filled eyes and a pleading look She knew what he was about to say, he could feel it. He knew that the secret he was about to unleash was going to change the way they all looked at her, at them. With Dan nothing would be lost but Lucas was a different story.

He would hate Haley and she would be crushed just as his dreams of joining the NBA had been crushed by her just a few short years ago. But there were also his boys to consider. Was it right to shatter them just to get back at Haley? Then again would they really be able to fully comprehend the words he was about to speak? He didn't know but he was about to find out.

With a heavy sigh he turned back to his father and brother.

"Why don't you ask her? Seeing as how she already has"

He then collected his two sons, walked out of the dinning room and never once looked back. Not even when he heard Haley start to cry.


	5. Like A Deer Caught In The Headlights

**Chapter Four: Like A Deer Caught In The Headlights**

What could she say? The words that Nathan had spoken so passionately, so easily, yet shaken were true. Still yet, she felt the need to portray them as false.

She opened her mouth to speak lies and to make herself into a victim of deformation of character but no words would come out. Maybe it was her subconscious and morality at play. Perhaps they were the reasons that she couldn't spin her web of deceit and sudden case of lock jaw.

She could feel their eyes boring into her which didn't make the situation any easier. She knew that they had already tired and convicted her in their minds without knowing the full story but with a revelation like this, which her own selfish actions had brought about, how could she blame them?

Tears slid down her cheeks as she slowly stood from the table and walked calmly towards the edge of the dinning room. The walls were starting to close in or her and the air, suddenly felt heavy and too hard to breathe.

As much as she wanted to stay and defend herself she knew that it was best to leave things as they were for now, giving both father and son time to recover from the shock. Then, when things were better, she would tell them all the details.

She would let them know that yes she had strayed but it was only for a short time. She was a confused girl and Jonathan was a smooth talker and had given her the attention she so desperately craved from her then traveling husband.

The tall blue eyed dark haired male had told her all of the things that she wanted, needed to hear from a man and the fact that he was handsome, athletic and a scholar only added to her inner struggles. The woman connected with him on levels that Nathan couldn't even dream of touching. He was so smart and worldly and she enjoyed hearing of his many travels around the world. It was as if they were kinder sprits, linked to one another's souls with a deep meaning and understanding of one another that no one else could possibly understand.

Although she and Jonathan shared a common bond, deep down Haley knew that she was incapable of loving him and that he was only there to fill a void. She loved Nathan, at least back then she did and her heart belonged to him. But on those cold lonely nights during his away games and with all of the scheduled training upon his arrival back home it was Jonathan that filled the emptiness inside her. He was the one who made her feel like a real woman again, one who was desirable, intelligent and vibrant. To him she wasn't some trophy wife that he could show off to the guys on game night or at all the overly expensive parties with the rich and snobby crowd. No, with Jonathan she was free to be herself, something that she hadn't done in a long time with Nathan.

"Are you even going to say anything?" the voice of her best friend questioned, breaking into her thoughts.

She could tell that he was still trying to digest the new information that had been thrown his way.

She tried around, slowly, spinning on her heels with a heavy sigh. When her eyes found his, she didn't have to search to figure out what he was feeling.

Lucas had a look of disappointment and anger written all over his features. He was staring at her as if she was street trash and it killed her.

She turned away for a moment and shuddered at the amount of sheer emotion that was radiating from him.

He was supposed to be her best friend and believe in her innocence when others refused to. Then again Lucas had this gift of being able to see into the very core of a person's being and straight into their soul. Hiding the truth from him would be stupid, besides he already knew. He already knew that she had betrayed his brother.

"I…" she trailed off, unsure of exactly what to say. She was aware of the fact that he already knew but that didn't make giving voice to the truth any less painful.

"I'm a cheating slut. Go ahead and say it Saint Haley. Tell Lucas how you cheated on his brother and ruined him" this time it was Dan's voice she heard.

She stood there waiting for Lucas to come to her defense and go off on his ass of a father that had spoken so harshly to her, but he didn't.

Instead of defending her Lucas ignored his father's comments and walked over to her. When they were toe to toe the blond took her face in his hands, forcing her to once again look into his eyes.

"How could you do this? How could you do this to Nathan? How could you do this to yours sons Haley? What kind of person does such a thing?"

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath in order to try and gather her wits about her. It was so hard to see Lucas so hurt, so angry.

"It happened a long time ago Lucas" she quietly replied "Before Dillon was even born and besides Nathan has changed in ways you couldn't even imagine since then"

She spoke those words in hopes that the blond would forgive her and not find her crimes so applauding, however she was wrong.

"How could you blame him? His wife, the woman he loved screwed another man. What, did you expect him to smile and say hey, shit happens?"

"Still, Haley" Lucas said forcefully as he once again ignored his father's remarks.

Stepping away from her as if she were the carrier of leprosy he continued "It was a real shitty thing to do Haley. No wonder Nathan has been so on edge and angry all these years. I mean I never thought for once that it could be something like this, something so…horrible" he trailed off.

"Damn you Haley. Damn you for doing this to him" he spoke with his back now turned to her.

Haley, afraid of losing her best friend walked up behind him and touched his shoulder in an attempted to make him understand but it was to no avail. Lucas just pushed her away roughly and shook his head at the woman, like a father disappointed in his child.

"I have nothing else to say to you Haley. No if you'll excuse you I'm going to check on my brother"

Within an instant Lucas was gone and Haley found herself in a room that was way too small for her.

She had to run. She had to get away from these people and this place that had caused her nothing but pain since the day her and her husband moved in.

She bolted through the front door and began running down the street as fast as she could, like a mad woman on edge. She didn't have any specific destination in mind, all she wanted to do is get as far away from this place as her body would physically allow her to.

Her speed was increasing and the heavy winds of the night were ripping through her hair as imagines of her life up until this point flashed before her eyes.

Tears slid down her cheeks just as a new wave of rain showers began to pour from the sky, soaking everything it touched. It seemed as if the storm were tired to her emotions as her world spiraled further and further out of control. First she had been neglected by her husband, and then in retaliation she found comfort in the arms of another man which in turn made Nathan into the monster that he is today. Now Lucas, her best friend and most trusted ally hated her. The man was like a brother to her and it hurt like hell to have him turn his back on her. She needed him more then he knew but now any hopes of getting away from her abusive husband were gone. They had vanished right along with her best friend's faith in her.

Damn it why was her life filled with so much pain? Did God really hate her that much that he would take away the only person who could have possibly saved her from Nathan?

Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, along with the sound of the heavy rain as she ran faster and faster into the night. Her entire body was drenched and the chill in the air made her feel as if she were battling her way through the artic.

The woman's body trembled, not only from the cold but from the heavy uncontrollable sobbing that she found herself doing. She didn't want to but everything was so screwed up that she didn't know what else to do.

She was so distracted that she didn't realize she was no longer on the sidewalk but was now running into the street. A sudden light, so bright it completely blinded her appeared. She instantly raised her hands to her face to shield herself from the intruding light as she tried desperately to regain her sight. Unfortunately the rays of light were way too powerful for her to overcome and that's when in her current state of panic she heard _it_.

The screeching of tires fighting hard against the wet road as they tried their best to stop the moving vehicle made her gasp in horror. The shouts of surprise from the driver of the car made her cringe and painfully aware of the ill-fated situation she now found herself in.

The front end of the car collided hard with her body causing her to fly through the air before crashing down to the pavement with a sickening thud. Her body convulsed uncontrollably as pain fully engulfed delicate form. In that moment all she could do was pray to God that he didn't take her just yet. She needed to see her two children and brother in law one more time. She needed to tell them that she loved them and that she would always be with them no matter how far apart they were. No matter what awaited her in the after life.

Suddenly it became too hard to think as sharp, stabbing pains attacked her brain. She could feel the darkness calling out to her, trying to pull her into its unforgiving rapture but still she wasn't going to give up so easily.

In the distance she could hear the ambulance steadily approaching as the driver of the car keep pleading with her to hold on. And she did as along as she could.

However this was until the darkness had finally won.


	6. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

**Chapter Five: **The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

He was following closely behind the ambulance being sure not to lose them or collide with any other cars as he raced down the street. The road was wet and he could barely see out of his windshield but he didn't dare slow down because if he did, he would lose them and would be there for her and he had to be there if it was the last thing he did. He sighed wringing his hands together and praying that she was going to make it, that she was going to be okay.

He hadn't even seen her coming with all the rain that was pouring down and even if he had seen her it would have been too late anyway. The roads were too slick and he was going to fast, something that he had been warned about before and ironically enough she was the one who had delivered the stern words.

That's right, she, the young, sweet innocent woman whom he had just run down was someone very important to him at one point in time and if he were completely honest with himself he would admit that those feelings were still there. But, unfortunately there was no way they could be together like they had once been. She was a married woman and he was a different man now then he was back then. Back then he didn't care about whether or not she had a husband or children, back then the only person that matter was her. He didn't care who got hurt in the process as long as he could feel her body firmly pressed against his own and taste her sweet lips as they crashed into his. The mere thought of her sent chills up and down his spine but now those thoughts were being tainted by images of her lying on the cold, wet ground with pain skin, bloody nose and mouth and eyes that were glazed over and showing signs of death.

He shook his head not wanting to think about what would happen to him if she died and he didn't mean just from the stand point of the justice system. He would lose his mind if something were to happen to her. He loved her so much it hurt and being the one to end her life would drive him over the edge and put in a padded cell for life. Sure he didn't have her in the sense that he would like to have but at least he knew that she was happy and that she loved her husband and her children very much and this knowledge was good enough for him. As long as she was happy then everything was okay.

But right now she was anything but happy or okay. Right now the woman he loved and had to walk away from was fighting for her life it was all his fault.

He pulled into the hospital parking lot and headed for the emergency waiting room. It wasn't crowded like he expected it to be in fact it was eerily quite, almost too quite for his liking.

He sat down in a corner and allowed tears to roll down his cheeks as he thought about the time they had spent together. He remembered how they had gone away for the weekend to his cabin by the lake. It was so beautiful there and peaceful. It was their private place where they could be together freely without prying eyes or fear of being caught by her husband's friends or their nosey little housewives. Everything was perfect there and for just a few days they could pretend that the outside world didn't exist and that they were just a young couple in love. Those were the best days of his life and now it looked as though he was experiencing the worst day ever and he couldn't help but shake the feeling that things were only going to get worse.

* * *

"So are you going to talk to me about this or what?" questioned Lucas as he sat down on the bed next to his brother.

The two Scott siblings had put the children to bed about half in an hour ago and their father was downstairs watching a basketball game, so that left just the two of them alone to chat.

"What's there to talk about? Your best friend's a slut" replied Nathan with disgusted snarl.

"Ok, let's try this again without the name calling"

"Give me a break Luke she cheated on me. Besides who side are you on anyway?"

"I'm on your side Nathan but that doesn't mean that I want to hear you trashing Haley. At least not until I know all of facts"

"What's there to know Lucas? She cheated on me with some lame ass English professor that couldn't fight his way out of a God damn paper bag! She chose that over me and our kids!" yelled Nathan running his fingers through his dark hair.

"I'm sorry Nate, I didn't…Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why didn't you call me"

Nathan wanted to smirk in triumph at the sympathetic tone his brother was giving him. If things went his way then his lying, cheating, whore of a wife wasn't going to have a friend left in the world which meant that no one would miss her. That no one would be left to care whether she lived or died which meant that he would be free to torture her the same way she had tortured him for months. Besides if it weren't for that bitch and her nerdy teacher boy toy then he would have been the greatest basketball star that ever walked the face of the earth. Well him and Lucas of course.

"I couldn't Luke" the dark haired male replied with fake tears.

_Damn he was good_

"I was ashamed of the fact that I wasn't man enough to keep my wife at home. That I didn't have what it took to satisfy her but some loser did. I mean that's a painful enough truth to deal with in itself and I didn't want anyone's pity to make me feel even worse"

"I know Nate but you should have come to me. I'm your brother man"

"I know Luke. And I know that you'll always have my back no matter what but I had to deal with on my own. Hell, I'm still dealing with it"

"I understand" Lucas said giving his brother a pat on the back.

"How long ago did all this happen?"

"About two and a half years ago"

Lucas had one of those looks on his face. Like when you've got one piece of the puzzle in your hand and you're looking for just the right place to put it.

"Wait a minute. That was around the time you injured your shoulder" said Lucas as he turned to face his brother "It was him wasn't it? The guy you got into that fight with was Haley's boyfriend?"

"Yeah"

Lucas was about to comment further when the telephone rang.

"Hello" answered Nathan.

"What?!"

"Where?"

"Is she going to be okay?"

The panic in Nathan's voice worried Lucas as they both now stood up from the bed.

He waited rather impatiently for Nathan to get off of the phone. When he did the man ran around the room frantically searching for his wallet and keys.

"Nathan what is it? What's wrong?"

At the sound of his brother's voice Nathan turned around.

"It's Haley Luke. She was just hit by a car and their taking her Mercy hospital"

That's all he needed to say as he exited the room with a worried Lucas trailing right behind him.

* * *

When they entered the waiting room Nathan and Lucas headed straight for the nurses station.

"Excuse me I need to see my wife Haley Scott. She was hit by a car and was brought in just a few minutes ago"

"Yes she's being prepped for surgery right now but before we take her in we need you to feel out a few forms"

"Sure" Nathan said as he grabbed the forms and headed to the waiting area.

He was so busy filling out the paper work and talking to the nurses that he didn't see the other man that was sitting just a few feet away. The very same man that was responsible for everything wrong in his life, including his wife's accident.

"Here you go" Nathan said putting the finishing touches on the paper work.

"Thank you Mr. Scott. The doctor will come out to see you the second he's down with your wife's surgery"

"Ok, thanks" replied Nathan as he once again took a seat next to his brother.

"This is all my fault"

"No it's not Nathan"

"Yes it is. If I hadn't told you guys about what Haley did then she wouldn't have ran out of the house. She would be at home right now instead of being in this place"

"It's okay man. Haley's a fighter. She's gonna make it through this. You have to believe that"

"Yeah" Nathan's voice came out in a whisper just as a fellow officer approached him.

"Scott" the red headed man said as he knelt before Nathan.

"Smith" he replied shaking the man's hand "Lucas this is Mark Smith one of the best officers in the prescient. Mark this is my brother Lucas"

"Nice to meet you Lucas I just wish that it had been under better circumstances"

"Me too" said the blond as they shook hands.

"How is she?"

"We don't know yet. They just took her into the OR"

"I see"

"Well I hope…" the officer trailed off as he saw the man responsible for the condition of his wife's co-worker just a few feet away.

"Hey" he said nodded in the man's direction "Did you get a chance to talk to him yet? He felt really bad about what happened"

"Who?" questioned Nathan and Lucas at the same time.

"That guy sitting over there in the corner. He's the one who hit your wife when she ran into the street"

Both Scott brothers looked over the guilt ridden man seated alone in the far corner of the room. He seemed so small for a man of his size at the moment. At first Nathan couldn't get a real clear picture of him but that all soon changed as the man stood up to get tissue from a box that rested on a nearby table.

Once he did everything became all too clear.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Nathan as he leaped to his feet followed by Lucas and Mark.

"You tried to kill her didn't you?!" he shouted before punching the man in the face.

"Nathan!" yelled Lucas as he and his brother's fellow officer tried to pull the younger Scott off of the other dark haired male.

"You're crazy I would never hurt Haley, ever"

"Oh yeah then why the hell is my wife laying on an operating table right now instead of at home in bed, MY bed where she belongs"

"I didn't see her coming; it was an accident I swear"

"Do you really expect me to believe that? No, you ran Haley over because she decided to leave your ass and come back to her family, to me to our kids"

Both Lucas and Mark looked at each other as they struggled to hold Nathan back. Each one not believing what they were hearing.

"I'm sorry ok, I'm sorry about everything"

"Yeah, not as sorry as you're going to be if Haley dies and I promise you that if she does leave this earth, she'll be taking you with her because I won't let you live. Do you understand me? You're death Matthews. If I lose my wife, you're a dead man"

Those were the last words Jonathan Matthews heard as he exited Mercy hospital.


	7. Pieces Of A Puzzle

**Chapter Six: Pieces Of A Puzzle**

Things had finally calmed down after Jonathan Matthews ran out of the hospital, distancing himself from the rantings of his former lover's husband and now the brothers were sitting together in the waiting room once again surrounded by silence.

"So, are you calm enough now to talk?" question Lucas.

Nathan sat beside him still fuming over the events that unfolded moments before. The young man hadn't moved or spoken a word since the departure of his wife's ex boyfriend. Instead he just stared straight ahead with his lips tightly pursed together and brow furrowed in anger.

"Talk?" he replied now turning to face his brother "What's there to talk about? I mean first that no good son of a bitch has an affair with my wife which cause a fight that leads to my injury, then he tries to kill her for leaving him and coming back home to me. To top it off he has the nerve to sit here and pretend to be sorry about what he's done?" he shook his head vigorously "No way man, screw that. He's a dead man the second I find out what's going on with Haley"

Lucas gave his brother a genuine look of sympathy and sighed.

"Come on Nathan, you don't really believe that he would try to kill Haley do you?"

"You can't be naive enough to believe other wise Luke?"

There was an edge of bitterness in is voice, a dangerous edge that made Lucas slightly uncomfortable.

"Don't you mean to say that I'm not jaded enough to believe your theory?"

Nathan leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest and smiled maliciously.

"You know what since you're so cool with the idea of infidelity why don't you let me borrow Brooke for a little while. We'll go out, have lots of sex and then she can come home one day and tell you that we connected on a leave that you and she could never reach. Then you come talk to me about how jaded I am"

Taken aback by his brother's demeanor and stinging words Lucas stiffened a little before quickly regaining his composure.

"Listen to me Nathan" he replied in a voice that was strained with effort as he fought to be patient with his younger sibling "What Haley and that Jonathan guy did was wrong. Okay, I get that but that doesn't mean that he would try to kill her out of spite or anything else that, that brain of yours could dream up. The fact is that it was just a coincidence and the only reason you're trying to pin a murder charge on the guy is because you're still pissed and rightfully so but that doesn't make it right Nate and you know it"

The younger man dropped his head for a moment, contemplated his brother's words then looked back to him.

"Well it may be vicious, amoral evil or whatever else you want to call it but such is life big brother. In the end someone will always have to be sacrificed and in this case he's getting exactly what he deserves"

The blond moved to the edge of his seat, rested his elbows on his thighs, put his face in his hand and sighed. It was requiring a hell of a lot of effort on his part not to knock some sense into his younger brother.

As if dealing with Dan and what happened to Haley wasn't enough now he had to try and curb his brother's murderous instincts. Great he thought, just great.

"So sacrificing an innocent man is perfectly fine by you Officer Scott?" he asked lifting his head.

Nathan held a blank stare for a while but that soon all changed. His features slowly began to morph into a look of arrogance and smugness as if it were dawning on him for the first time the amount of power he possessed, power that came with a gun and a badge.

"He's far from innocent Lucas so you can take that self righteous attitude of yours and shove it up your ass"

Lucas laughed.

"You have some nerve telling me about my attitude when you can't even control your own. Look at you officer. You're out of control, you're starting fights in a hospital waiting room and you're throwing around false accusations just to get back at the guy who slept with your wife"

"Please, as if you wouldn't"

"Actually no I wouldn't. I mean beating the living hell out of the guy is one thing. Having him sent to death row for attempted murder is quite another Nathan"

The dark haired male smirked as if he knew some dirty little secret.

"Really? So, you're telling me that if some guy nailed Brooke, ruined your basketball career, forcing you to give up your dreams and become a cop that you wouldn't use your authority to get back at him?"

"No I wouldn't _Dan_"

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Oh right. I forgot that I was talking to St. Luke. Listen bro sometimes you're too God damn naïve for your own good. When someone takes something from you or hurts you in such a way that you feel as if your life is over, that your world is empty, it's your job to make them feel your pain"

The look in his eyes had a dark shadow to it as he spoke. It was one of those looks that would flash in the eyes of a killer just before he claimed the life of his victim. His fist, were clenched so tightly that his knuckles where white from lack of circulation. His tone was angry yet psychotically calm at the same time. Everything about him at the moment was just down right scary.

None of this went unnoticed by Lucas.

He fought hard to speak and question the beliefs of his brother but the words just wouldn't come out. Instead he sat there in obedient indifference as Nathan continued.

"They have to know what it's like to hurt, to have their world town apart. The same way they destroyed yours, it's only fair, it's the only justice there is. Besides why shouldn't they pay for what they've done?"

To this the older male said nothing, unable to trust himself to speak.

"Exactly" the man replied to his brother's unspoken words.

Lucas was just getting up the courage to respond when a doctor entered the waiting room and approached them.

"I'm a basketball fan so I know you're Lucas Scot which means that you must be Nathan"

"Yes doctor" replied Nathan as he and Lucas shook the doctor's hand.

"How's Haley? Is she going to be okay?"

His voice was cold and unchanging from his previous rant which earned him looks from both his brother and the doctor.

"She's okay for now but she has suffered server injuries. She has a broken leg, a dislocated shoulder, which we were able to reset. She also has a broken jaw, fractured pelvis and two broken ribs not to mention head trauma"

Nathan and Lucas allowed the doctor's words to sink in before urging him to continue.

"With all of the damage that Mrs. Scott has sustained her body has decided to shut down in order to regenerate it's self by placing her in a coma"

"How long will she be in the coma for?" questioned Lucas who was on the verge of tears.

The doctor sighed.

"Only time will tell. However there is another matter I would like to discuss with you Mr. Scott"

"Sure, go ahead"

"Very well, Mrs. Scott has a lot of bruises not only on her body but on her face. I also found that her ribs had quite a bit of bruising as well"

Nathan pretended to be puzzled by the doctor's words.

"Well wouldn't that have occurred when she was hit by the car?"

"Actually these bruises are about a day or two old. Do you remember your wife taking a fall recently?"

Nathan could feel their eyes on him and he knew that if he allowed the question to hand in the air any longer they would figure out that he had been abusing his wife.

"Oh you know what. She was carrying a basket of laundry in front of her few days ago and fell down the stairs. From the top of the stairs to be exact" he closed his eye and sighed "Damn it I told her to go get herself checked out but she just didn't feel the need to go. I should have forced her to go to the hospital"

"Well you know how stubborn women can be"

"Yeah" said Nathan pretending to be upset.

"Don't beat yourself up about it too much Mr. Scott besides you weren't the one that put her in the hospital. Right now you need to focus on your wife's recovery. In fact she's in a private room now so if you want to go spend some time with here you can. Maybe the sound of your voice will help her come out of it"

"Thanks doc" Nathan said before turning to Lucas.

"Go ahead bro. I'm gonna call Dad and Brooke and let them know what's going on. Then I'll meet you in Haley's room"

Nathan shook his head in agreement before following the doctor's lead.

Meanwhile Lucas sat down once again and tried to breathe through his anxiety. The pit of his stomach was a bit queasy and unsettled. Something about his brother's behavior and the way he spoke about revenge made him tense and fearful. He had never seen Nathan so angry before, so cold and uncaring. Now only one thought remained in the back of his mind as he dialed the number to his father's cell phone.

If Nathan was this angry with a stranger he knew little about and had no emotional ties to then just what the hell would he do to the one person that hurt him the most? What would he too to the person whom he loved more then anything, the very same person that betrayed him? What would he do to Haley? Or more importantly what had he already done?

"Hello" a voice on the other end spoke.

"Hey Dad it's me" said Lucas coming out of his trance.

"Hey how's the jezebel doing?"

The blond rubbed his temples in despair. After the night he just had listening to his father go off on Haley was the last thing he needed.

"_Haley_" he said stressing her name "Sustained a lot of injuries which caused her body to shut down and pull her into a coma"

"I see. How's Nathan doing?"

"He's okay" he lied not wanting to answer the ten thousand questions that he knew would follow if he said other wise "How are the kids?"

"They're asleep. They kept asking where their Mommy and Daddy where though"

There was a pause for a moment as an air of curiosity came over him. He didn't know where it came from. All he knew was that he needed to ask the questions and hear them answered.

"Will you do me a favor Dad?"

"Sure son, what' sup?"

"Can you check out the staircase and see if there's any damage?"

"What? Why?"

Lucas rolled his eyes impatiently.

"I have my reasons"

"What's going on Lucas?"

"Dad please, just do it" the blond snapped.

"Fine" replied the elder Scott.

On the other end of the phone he could hear the man descending slowly upon the staircase.

"Nope, none that I can see"

"What about the wall? Are there any markings or smudges as if someone took a hard fall from the top?"

"No"

"Okay, thanks Dad"

"Lucas you still haven't told me what the hell is going on. Why do you care about the steps in your brother's house?"

"Got to go, bye" Lucas hung up the phone and leapt to his feet and began pacing the hospital floor.

Had Nathan lied? Did Haley really take a fall down the stairs or had something else all together happened? He didn't know but he was sure as hell about to find out.


	8. Better Off

**Chapter Seven:** Better Off

She felt as if she were floating in a dense London inspired for where every sound, every tough was magnified more than ten times its usual force. It was a strange feeling to her but yet she wasn't afraid. In fact she welcomed the sensation it brought and only hoped that it would keep her within its cocoon of protection against the chaos and pain that her everyday life seemed to bring. The only problem was finding a way out and back to her boys when the time came, IF the time came. It's not that she wanted to die, in fact it was the very opposite. She wanted a life with her children and if he could be saved her husband as well but she didn't want to go back to the hostility and judgment of her best friend in the world who now believed her to be a whore because of a past mistake and a moment of weakness that he didn't fully know or understand. Everything was just so messed up that she needed time to think of a way to make them all understand what led her to such a unforgivable act.

The last thing she remembered was running out of the house hurt, angry and in desperate need of a place to hide her face until she was able to face her best friend after his brother's heart heavy confession of her crime. A crime that had cost the man she loved to lose his dreams of a career in basketball and his humanity all at the same time. She had no idea how she was going to fix things but she was damn sure going to try.

Finding her way through the mist the woman came to a small mysterious clearing. She couldn't clearly see what was in front of her but she could make out that it was two very distinct and very familiar figures. The sharp sound of true, honest laughter filled the air slightly startling her. However she instantly recognized it as her own. Shocked and intrigue took over as she took several steps forward. With the dense fog around her slowly lifting she was then able to see herself and Nathan sitting on their high school football field.

She smiled at the memory.

Nathan had surprised her at her parents' house with a bouquet of white roses in one hand and a blind fold in the other. Needless to say she was more than a little curious. She questioned just what his intentions were. He only smiled that insanely sexy grin and asked what she had in mind. She laughed and reminded him that their marriage was on probation and that he was going to behave himself whether he liked it or not. After a few minutes of arguing that point he let the proposal go slipping the blind fold over her eyes, leading her to the car and setting off for an unknown destination. During the entire trip she kept begging for even the slightest hint about where they were going but he insisted that it stay a secret until they arrived. Confusion must have blanketed her face the second that she was allowed to see again. Needless to say a school's football field was not her idea of a "reconnection" kind of date. But she smiled once she saw the picnic that he had prepared for them in the center of the field. At that point Nathan turned to her.

"_Remember our first morning together? You told me that you weren't going to fall for my look at me I'm Nathan Scott scoring all of my touch downs because you weren't impressed by that"_

He smiled at her before busting out into a fit of laughter. She rolled her eyes and turned away a little to hide her smile before joining in.

"_Ok so I was a little basketball challenged"_

"_You still are, I can't help but love you in spite of your flaw. Besides you have an amazing ass"_

Her husband had a hell of a way with words but deep down he was a good guy. She knew that from day one even when he was being an ass and everybody including her best friend thought that he was a lost cause and that he would never change. But she had managed to do the impossible giving Lucas the brother that he had always secretly wanted and Nathan the protector he found his older sibling.

If only she had known what he was capable of becoming.

Deep down she knew that Nathan wasn't the only person at fault. She too played a major role in the destruction of their marriage. After all she had been the one who had the affair managing to break his heart and ruin what he had trained his whole life to achieve. Part of her believed that she deserved what Nathan had been dishing out ever since that faithful night. She had betrayed her vows not to mention that he had just signed his NBA contract with Chicago Bulls and was the happiest she had ever seen him other then the day their children were born.

The night of the incident will haunt her forever and she knew it. Both her husband and her lover were enraged that night and things got real ugly real fast. Nathan called her a whore prompting Jonathan to defend her. The rest as they say is history.

Suddenly the scene around her changed and now found herself in a hospital, walking it's hall with a hint of recognition in her eyes. Then it hit her. She was in the hospital where her fist son, Dillon, was born. She couldn't help but be a little overcome with emotion. The labor had been a different one but she came through like a trooper. Opening the double doors she entered the room filled with nurses and doctors. As she looked the room over saw herself with a frightened Nathan standing by her side telling her to stay with them and that she could do this and that both she and their son were going to be just fine. It's funny how she didn't really remember this moment. The stress of it all must have blocked this part out but Nathan was amazing. She knew that he was scared out of his mind but yet he had managed to put on a brave face if only for her sake.

God how she missed this man.

A man that loved her more than words could ever express, the very same man who would never have laid a hand on her or their children and would walk through the fires of hell if they needed him to. The person she knew now was evil, spiteful and full of hate that he unleashed upon her everyday all because of a mistake on her part.

How could she have done this to him?

He was so in love with her that he changed from the arrogant, self serving jock who tortured his own brother for the hell of it to a loving brother an excellent team player and a damn good friend. Now this wasn't to say that Nathan wasn't responsible for his actions because he was but she played a major roll in turning her husband into an abusive narcissist with an insane appetite for revenge and control, a far cry from the person he once was.

"_How could be so selfish" You had it all Haley. A good husband, two amazing little boys and some how you managed to throw it all away for some guy who whispered a few kind words to you. Does this shit sound rational to you? This is the same man who decides to run you over because you chose us over him. Well if I didn't hate you before I sure as hell do now not only for ruining my career but for possibly taking my children's mother from them. I hope that this was all worth it to you Haley. I hope that screwing that bastard was worth the pain that you've caused us and if you recover from all this I promise you that life with me will never be the same again. This time around I'm really going to make you suffer, you bitch"_

These words got her attention. She looked around for the source of the words but she couldn't find it. She knew it was Nathan's voice but it sounded so far away from her and her dream world, a world that had suddenly faded to black.

The quiet returned for a few short moments as she could feel every single one of the emotions that Nathan was sending her way. She wanted to plead her case as well as tell Nathan that what he was doing to her was just as wrong if not worse than the crime she had committed against him but she couldn't. She was light years away from him and even if she were awake he wouldn't listen to her. He was too angry, too hurt to understand her side of things and she was sure that his feelings towards her were going to take years to change if ever. Deep down she knew that she had also hurt to man's pride. After all he was the great Nathan Scott when he started dating "the tutor girl" that supposedly wasn't good enough to be seen in public with him. How could she cheat on such a perfect male specimen when she was just a nobody and was only made into a cheerleader and socialite because of him?

She knew that these were the kind of things he thought about. Hell he had went so far as to make such statements to her on a few different occasions. It was hurtful but she couldn't help but recognize them as true.

"_I hope you're happy Hales. I have to go home now and explain to Dillon and Lucas why their Mommy isn't coming home for a while and tell them that she may never come back. Gees I can't thank you enough for this dear"_

The words were spoken with venom that she had never heard from her husband before. Not even during one of his beatings. And what was that he said about Jonathan being the one who hit her? It wasn't possible, was it?

"_Well have a good night Hales and if you really love us, try not waking up"_

If she wasn't crushed before she sure as hell was now. She knew that Nathan was beside himself but this was taking things too far. Doesn't he know that Dillon and Lucas mean the world to her? Wasn't he aware of how destroyed she would be to know that her children were hurting because of her situation? Why was her husband being such a monster? Didn't he hold even the slightest amount of love for her any more?

However there was on other voice that held some form of hope for her. At least she still had someone on her side. She waited for what seemed like an eternity but the voice never came. They person she wanted to come and see her and hold her hand and let her know that someone still cared for her was missing and it tore her apart.

"Damn it" she swore into the darkness "Lucas Scott where the hell are you?"

She waited for the second time and again the silence returned nothing but more of the same.

She now truly alone. Nathan hated her, Lucas hated her and once her boys found out about their mother's betrayal of the family they too would hate her. These thoughts brought on nothing but pain and misery mixed with thoughts of a very lonely and very cold ending to what could have been a wonderful life.

Sinking further into despair the girl's subconscious begin to ponder as to whether or not her husband was right. Maybe just maybe she was better off dead…


End file.
